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As we start a new year, those of us helping on the Office of Inspector General blog thought it would be fun to reflect on the past year and pick our top 10 list of postal stories from 2008. We would like to hear your views. Take a look at the list and tell us what you like or don’t like. Tell us about any stories we missed and add whatever comments you think appropriate. In particular, we would like to know your pick of the top postal story for 2008, so take a minute and vote for the most important story by participating in the poll below.

After blogging for several months, the Office of Inspector General wants you to know how it’s going. So far, we’ve posted seven blogs (including this one) and received more than 100 comments. There have been a number of thoughtful observations about the Postal Service, and the Mail Transport Equipment blog actually led to a tip that resulted in the recovery of some pallets.

In 1970, the Postal Service delivered fewer than 85 billion pieces of mail. Thirty years later, mail volume had more than doubled to nearly 208 billion pieces of mail — average growth of about 3 percent per year. The Postal Service relied upon this dependable growth in mail volume to finance the expansion of its network. The traditional business model worked.

The Postal Service moves mail using planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, bicycles, hovercrafts, subways and even mules. It operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world with more than 219,000 vehicles. Its fleet of trucks drives nearly 4.1 million miles and uses more than 400,000 gallons of fuel daily. To put this in perspective, when fuel costs increase by one penny, the cost to the Postal Service increases by more than $8 million annually.

The Woodfield Station located in Schaumburg, Illinois is an innovative, new retail environment that tests the limits of how the United States Postal Service interacts with customers and sells products and services. Dubbed the “Retail Learning Lab,” this completely redesigned post office serves as a testing ground for new products, new methods of serving customers, and new models for partnering with commercial businesses.

Latest Blog Posts

Small purchases can add up. That’s certainly the case with the government’s purchase card program, which provides charge cards to more than 350 federal agencies, organizations, and Native American tribal governments.

Two times a year, we publish a report of our work and activities for a just-ended six-month period. This Semiannual Report to Congress (or SARC, as we affectionately call it) is required by law, but it’s also a chance for us to share our record of work with our many stakeholders.

Do you mail in your tax returns? Have you ever received a summons for jury duty? If so, it’s likely you’ve sent or received Certified Mail — a special service from the U.S. Postal Service that provides proof of mailing to the sender.

Latest Audit Asks

The Postal Service plays a role in the American democratic process by processing and delivering election and political mail through its network of 227 mail processing facilities. Election mail includes official items such as voter registration requests and absentee or mail-in ballots. Political...

A domestic end product is a product mined or produced in the United States or a product whose component costs are more than 50 percent procured within the United States. When purchasing supplies, the U. S. Postal Service must evaluate proposals offering other than domestic end products.

With its vast network of post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the country, spanning over 31,000 locations. The experience at retail locations can significantly affect a customer’s view of the Postal Service and likelihood to use it again in the future. USPS...

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We encourage you to visit our blog, which has a new topic for discussion every Monday. You can also give us your thoughts and opinions about upcoming audits on our Audit Asks page. Please refer to our comment policy for further information.